Thursday

May 12, 2016 at 12:01 AMMay 12, 2016 at 6:13 PM

The cookbook highlights favorite dishes from more than 20 local rolling restaurants, including Sophie's Gourmet Pierogi, Challah!, Mai Chau and more.

Renee Casteel Cooksays she and her husband collect cookbooks the way other people collect tchotchkes. Now she's co-authored one of her own. After seeing a cookbook in the "Trailer Food Diaries" series, in which author Tiffany Harelik features recipes from various food trucks in Austin, Houston, Dallas and Portland, Cook thought the Columbus food truck scene was primed for a similar treatment. She called Harelik, who loved the idea. For the past two years, the co-authors collected, prepared and vetted recipes. The result is "The Columbus Food Truck Cookbook," which was released earlier in May, highlights favorite dishes from more than 20 of the local rolling restaurants, including Challah!, Pitabilities, Ray Ray's Hog Pit, Papaya, Mai Chau, Por'Ketta, Kinetic and many more.

Here, Cook shares the beer-braised pork belly in The Soph-the featured entrée at Sophie's Gourmet Pierogi, Stephen Redzinak's food cart named after his grandmother. The Soph was named one of the top-five must-try dishes at the Central Ohio Food Truck Festival.

Meet the authors, as well as eight of the food trucks featured in the cookbook 6-8 p.m. May 12 at The Food Fort Columbus, 737 Parkwood Ave.

The SophPork Rub

Ingredients

?1/4 cup Sazon Goya (coriander and Annatto)

?1/4 cup granulated onion

?1/4 cup granulated garlic

?1 cup brown sugar

?1/4 cup black pepper

?1/4 cup dry marjoram

?1/4 cup smoked paprika

?1/4 cup Kosher salt

Instructions

Combine all ingredients in a plastic container with a tight-fitting lid. Shake vigorously until all ingredients are mixed well.

For Sophie's signature beer-braised pork belly, cut a whole side of pork belly into 1/3 pieces and place in a full-size disposable aluminum pan with lid. Generously rub the pork belly all over with the rub and let sit overnight or up to three days in a refrigerator to cure.

Once the pork is cured, preheat oven to 275 degrees. Pour one to two cans of your preferred beer over the pork belly. Seal the pan with the lid and cook for approximately five hours or until the pork begins to pull apart easily.

Let cool completely, slice the pork belly into triple-thick slabs of bacon and crisp back up in a nonstick pan when ready to eat. Serve with the reduced braising liquid on artisan bread or alongside any accompaniment.

Cool the braising liquid and separate the fat from the top before you reduce it down. Save that fat and cook with it-it's liquid pleasure.